Dr. John Milton Hess
T
God Is In Control
he life of John Hess began in an inauspicious manner – he almost died. His mother, Kathryn Drumm Hess, as a 48-year-old expectant mother, struggled with the delivery, and the clinical staff at the hospital thought the baby would not make it. If not for his Aunt Ida, a trained nurse who revived him, we might not be telling his story. John’s memory of his mother has remained clear throughout his 85 years. He says in near reverence, “She was awesome and basically served as both parents. She loved unconditionally!” John’s mother was his role model. She was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate from Dickenson College in Pennsylvania and attended Columbia University. She taught John the love of learning. John’s father was a family practice doctor who traveled the country roads of Lancaster County, PA
BY: ROBIN COWHERD
making house calls, often sacrificing time away from his family. John occasionally rode along with him on those visits, perhaps a foreshadowing of John’s own career in medicine. John remembers riding along with him from time to time, “dropping me off by the stream to trout fish and returning to pick me up after his house calls,” John said. “My father’s death bed declaration that he loved me was the only time he shared those words, John said as a tear graced his cheek. His mother introduced faith into John’s life early by taking him to the United Brethren Church for Sunday John Hess and mother, Kathryn School as a todDrumm Hess in 1933. dler. He continued to attend church throughout his high school years. John describes the Brethren Church as not much different from Presbyterian except he notes with a laugh that, “when the church bells pealed it was time to go to church, not at the conclusion of the service.” His other childhood memory as a youngster growing up in the World War II era consisted of playing Army. He loved hiking through the woods with his friends during these skirmishes. He often played with underprivileged youngsters who lived near him, and they traded the sandwiches their mothers made them – his meat sandwiches in exchange for their molasses sandwiches. He can still taste those molasses sandwiches exclaiming, “They were great!”
The Hess family. John pictured, far left with mother Kathryn.
John’s high school career was relatively uneventful, except for meeting the young Dolores Walker. They dated some, but initially did not have much in common. As John put it, “She did everything she was supposed to do; I did nothing I was supposed to do.”
escape pre-med because of its difficulty, not enroll in it. Nonetheless, John Hess was now on his way to a medical career.
After high school graduation in 1951, John left for Penn State University, Mont Alto campus where he settled on the study of forestry. His whole life at home was hunting and fishing, and John figured that with a career in forestry he could hunt or fish any time. Math, however, had been a problem for him in high school and not much changed in college. His academic advisor offered John some not-so-subtle guidance, ”You are not college material and you better head back to the farm.” Not wanting to be drafted, John hastily tried to find another academic program in which he could be successful. So, his second year he found one program of study in which math was not requiredhorticulture. He signed up for horticulture, but just in case he also reconnected with a favorite high school teacher for some much-needed tutoring in math that summer. The next school year, now at the main Penn State campus in State College, he ended up in a rooming house with a number of graduate students who were studying physics. These students taught him an important life lesson for college – they suggested he study before drinking beer. John also noticed that in some of the classes he had, he did much better than his classmates. “Hey,” he said to himself, “maybe there is something to this studying after all.” Following his social adjustments and some math tutoring, John decided to once again change his major, this time to the pre-med program, prompting another notso-subtle response from a Penn State academic advisor, “People do not do that!” Many people were trying to
John, with Snoopy, as an Air Force Intern at Fort Lewis Madigan Hospital, Tacoma, WA.
Another important decision he made in college was to keep in touch with that young woman who did everything right - Dolores Walker. He had been writing letters to her and returning home on weekends as regularly as he could. Eventually. John proposed. He laughs when remembering that, “I sold my canoe to buy the engagement ring.” John and Dolores were married in August of 1953 at the Presbyterian Church in Columbia, Pennsylvania.
Pictured right: John, wife Delores and John Jr.
The early years of marriage and college were extremely hectic. His faith life was limited due to studies, but he still regularly thought of God and his purpose in life. There was a church on campus, but the couple drifted from formally growing their faith.
congregation, with their three sons. Over the next decade the family remained devoted to the church, but as the children grew into adulthood, John and Dolores’ church attendance waned. Still, John sensed the movement of his love for God, but he did not know where it was leading.
Following graduation after five years, John was accepted to Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. During one summer of medical school, John obtained a job in the Anesthesia Department, where he learned operating room procedures that offered him the opportunity to administer nitrous oxide during deliveries. After many academic twists and turns, the soon-to-be Dr. John Hess committed to anesthesiology.
Over Christmas in the early 2000s, John and Dolores took a trip to New York City. While walking the streets, they passed a beautiful Presbyterian Church on Fifth Avenue. Again, something tugged at John. He asked Dolores to worship with him there. Upon their return to Norfolk, they joined First Presbyterian. But as is often the case, God’s plan for the next decade of John’s life would not follow the plans Dolores and John anticipated.
John interned with the Air Force in order to continue his anesthesia training and, as a result, owed them a five-year commitment, which included a year in Vietnam. John and Dolores’ first child, John Jr., was born in 1959. In the midst of his Air Force career along came two more sons, David in 1961 and Brian in 1963.
John retired from medical practice in January 2002, and soon thereafter learned that he was suffering from acute lymphatic leukemia. He was admitted to the hospital where, over a six month period, many chemotherapy treatments were administered. Dolores visited him every day.
The Hess family relocated to Norfolk in 1970 to establish his medical practice, and John and Dolores became active in church again. They attended the Church of The Good Shepherd, an Episcopal
John said, “During my illness, everyone including my doctors thought I would die, everyone except me. An anesthesia medical partner brought me a Bible while in the hospital and led a study session with me each week. Thinking back, I realized that God is in control.” Incredibly, he recovered.
"I think about my place and purpose in life all the time and try to set an example for people to be like Jesus. I hope to have a humble and meek personality to be a good example for others." Within the next year, John and the children noticed that Dolores’ behavior had become erratic. Dolores had always been the family bookkeeper, but John discovered that household bills were not being paid. The children also came to John, concerned that their mother was repeating herself over and over again. Dolores had developed Alzheimer’s disease, which was gradually taking away her ability to function. Her decline became obvious and irreversible. For most people, the impact of even one of these illnesses could prove disastrous to their faith. John, however, resolved that his faith called him to care for and support Dolores as her health continued to decline. His commitment to her became his life focus. Eventually, she became bedridden and unable to communicate. With the assistance of caregivers, Dolores was cared for at her home until her final day in 2017.
“I felt very strongly that I had the opportunity to give back to Dolores, who was always faithful to me,” John said. “My faith life got much stronger, and I am thankful to the Lord for the opportunity to ‘pay back’ Dolores for her unconditional love.” “It never entered my mind that God introduced these diseases,” John said with certainty. “I’ve been trained as a physician to determine cause and effect, but the universe is endless. I can’t expect to understand it, so I accept life’s challenges as they arise.” John regularly attends worship, enjoys the men’s ministry activities and is a leader with the Senior’s First ministry at First Presbyterian Church. “I think about my place and purpose in life all the time and try to set an example for people to be like Jesus. I hope to have a humble and meek personality to be a good example for others.” Amen!